I'm trying to decide if I should be cautious about a new practitioner I met. I am interested in her because she does cranio-sacral therapy and massage work - both of which are firmly grounded medicines, but saw on her business card now that she also does Chakra alignment. There is a lot of talk about "energy" these days amongst new age nonsense, but the reality that we send biochemical electronic impulses throughout our body is well known, and that the flow of those can be disrupted makes perfect sense. I understand well how homeopathic, reflexology, and many other "alternative" medicines work and have had great success with them, but chakra seems to cross the line into altering your future or your spirituality by doing adjustments. Ultimately, I'm simply going to ask what her approach is - whether it is merely trying to help communication within the body function better (which will improve mood and health) or whether it is involves her saying prayers or something. How God integrates our mental, spiritual and physical well being is a great mystery, and it is so frustrating that people confuse the created relationship of these as God - instead of recognizing the God who created these beautiful systems.

I'm trying to decide if I should be cautious about a new practitioner I met. I am interested in her because she does cranio-sacral therapy and massage work - both of which are firmly grounded medicines, but saw on her business card now that she also does Chakra alignment. There is a lot of talk about "energy" these days amongst new age nonsense, but the reality that we send biochemical electronic impulses throughout our body is well known, and that the flow of those can be disrupted makes perfect sense. I understand well how homeopathic, reflexology, and many other "alternative" medicines work and have had great success with them, but chakra seems to cross the line into altering your future or your spirituality by doing adjustments. Ultimately, I'm simply going to ask what her approach is - whether it is merely trying to help communication within the body function better (which will improve mood and health) or whether it is involves her saying prayers or something. How God integrates our mental, spiritual and physical well being is a great mystery, and it is so frustrating that people confuse the created relationship of these as God - instead of recognizing the God who created these beautiful systems.

I know little, I do that in Yoga, mine is a Christian Yoga, I do not take the Hindu Theology, for me it is a simple mental and physical exercise, yes there is well being that comes with it, but I would not go that far in the philosophic arguments but I accept yours.

I think Chakras are a perfectly fine hypothesis on how the body synthesizes physical and spiritual energy. In my opinion, is is completely compatible with Christian belief.
In my experience, I know they at least exist.

If it can't be scientifically examined then I wonder about it... and if all you hear is a lot of pseudoscience (stuff that SOUNDS scientific but isn't really) then I'd wonder even more.

I honestly believe a lot of these 'new age' healing methods are just placebos. They work because you want them to and you believe they will.

I stumbled into a weird massage session once where the lady 'read my energy' after (without asking me). It was the most bizarre thing. She told me my 'reserves' were low... brilliant observation considering I had just finished telling her I was tired.

The massage did great things for me (by helping me relax), the energy reading was a bunch of nonsense.

Anyway, Chakra healing sounds like pseudoscience to me... I'd approach it with caution. After all, you don't want to waste your money do you?

__________________
"Faith as small as a mustard seed can move a mountain but doubt equally as small will stop it from moving."

I would probably be cautious about going to see this practitioner. While I have nothing against homeopathic medicine or naturopathic doctors, most other types of "new age" treatment are not of God. The thing about any kind of "new age" treatment is that most are based on the belief that the power or energy source is the "self" or "the god within" as opposed to the one true God, who is God Almighty. Therein is the dilemma. There are many things in the world that Christians subscribe to that do not have the stamp of God's approval. It would be better to go to God first (in faith) when you have a medical issue so that He can direct you to the doctor of His choosing.

I think Chakras are a perfectly fine hypothesis on how the body synthesizes physical and spiritual energy. In my opinion, is is completely compatible with Christian belief.
In my experience, I know they at least exist.

No, it is not compatible with Christian belief. It is very much incompatible. Chakra work is a New Age thing and should be avoided.

I agree with others who have posted that Chakra alignment or any healing practice having to do with Chakra work is not compatible with the teachings of the Catholic Church.

As someone who use to be into the New Age and actually practiced balancing the energy of my chakra´s many times I can tell you from experience that it is not good to get into these things. For one the chakra´s are the energy centers of the body, there are about 8 of them in the body. Although the number may vary with different systems. They are like spinning wheels of energy that reside on the top of the head (Crown Chakra), between your eyebrows, throat, heart, solar plexus, lower abdomen, genital area, and feet.

When these energy centers fall out of alignment they need to be balanced again. There is more to the chakra´s but I will refrain from going more into detail. There are better natural healing systems out there that don´t involve a spiritual component which ¨Chakra alignment¨ will involve.

I personally like hydrotherapy which is a system that involves bringing health to the body by using water at various temperatures.

No, it is not compatible with Christian belief. It is very much incompatible. Chakra work is a New Age thing and should be avoided.

It's actually an ancient Vedic Hindu thing, that was borrowed by New Agers. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water though! There is absolutely nothing about chakras that conflicts anything about Catholic or Christian teaching besides "It's new-agey, and seems weird." I am humble enough to know I could be wrong though, so if anyone has any evidence to the contrary I am all ears!

I had somene work on aligning my chakras when I had been involved with the new age. Part of this was also to help heal my "past lives" to rid me of my migraines. It did nothing to help the migraines. Looking back, the only thing it did do was open another door to suck me in to the occult/ new age even more. A lot of these things seem so innocent, but they are based in the new age, and it is very easy to be misled.

I've struggled with this topic a lot, as my sister introduced Reiki to me, and I know chakra energy does indeed exist. My only problem with it is that it can open up a door to something you don't want to get into.

I'm not saying whether or not it goes against the Church's teaching, and I think something like Tai Chi would be good to help get your energy flowing if you're so inclined, as it is good for relaxation and it gets you moving (as does yoga, which I think is fun). The belief in a Chakra system has been around for a LONG long time and is in no way new.

I used to practice energy work by concentrating on my energy and getting it flowing (once you know how it feels, it's easier to manipulate it). Though I've never come across anything other than a little uneasiness, my sister has had MANY experiences that I do not wish to share in. It's not evil in and of itself, but it's what the Devil can make of it that scares me.

I would pray about it a LOT before you get into it, and maybe talk to a priest about it if you want the Church's take on it.

Honestly all this talk about the 'energy' in me makes me shake my head in bemusement. Muscles, blood, tissue... this stuff I can understood but some elusive 'energy' that can't be TRULY measured or seen... that makes me go hmmm?

When you do a search on chakra, btw, you get a bunch of sources that really aren't compatible with Christianity. This should be enough to give any Christian pause.

I dunno... those who believe it's harmless won't be convinced otherwise and those who are leery would do well to trust their instincts.

__________________
"Faith as small as a mustard seed can move a mountain but doubt equally as small will stop it from moving."

Honestly all this talk about the 'energy' in me makes me shake my head in bemusement. Muscles, blood, tissue... this stuff I can understood but some elusive 'energy' that can't be TRULY measured or seen... that makes me go hmmm?

That's kind of a silly thing for someone to say who believes in "spirit." It's kind of the same thing.

This whole discussion is silly really. Yes, the concept of chakras is not christian in origin. It is from hinduism. At some point in the past New Agers latched on to the concept. New Agers also believe in angels though. Also, christmas trees are not christian in origin. These reasons alone do not make chakras, or the concept behind them, bad or dangerous.

It is just a theory on how the soul interacts with the body, the places where the soul is connected to the body. Have you ever felt uplifted, or energized after a good confession? You soul has been washed clean, healed, and it feels great. It's a real feeling. Maybe its just mental, but if you believe its spiritual, then how does this spiritual energy translate to a physical sensation, or emotion? It's a mystery. One hypothesis is that a human body/soul has spiritual "organs" as well as physical ones. That's what a chakra is...it's just a center of spiritual energy, or where your soul interacts with your physical body...where they are connected so that they are one. I'm no expert, but the concept is not dangerous or anti-christian.

Have you ever hugged someone you really love and feel like your heart is about to burst with joy? I mean physically, the sensation that your heart is expanding and feels so rich and good. Why would your chest feel like that in those moments? Increased heart rate? When I run my heart does not feel good like that. It's quite possibly just my soul pouring so much "energy" and "love" into my chakra that I feel overwhelmed with joy. Have you ever broken up with someone, or had a really bad fight with a spouse, and feel like your heart is leaking out through your chest? Some people describe is as "heart broken." That is possibly the sensation of the love and energy of your heart chakra being drained out by that emotion. Your soul feels "drained" in addition to emotion sadness. Otherwise, why would the heart area physically hurt when we are sad? It doesn't make sense from a physical/nervous perspective. Also, have you ever been really scared or anxious, and feel like you have a hollow in the pit of your stomach, or feel butterflies in your stomach? Why this sensation? I don't know, but chakras is one theory on how you spiritual self interacts with your body.

It's quite a simple concept. We just don't know how wonderfully God built our bodies, or even how he can connect a body with a soul. This can never be measured with science. It's just an idea on how it might be done, and it's not dangerous unless you go astray...but almost anything can lead you astray. So just take it all with a grain of salt.